


A Life In Seconds

by QuickPrey



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Afterlife, Brotherly Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Demons, F/M, Goddesses, Implied Yasuo/Riven, Platonic Relationships, Spirit Blossom AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:14:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25308091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuickPrey/pseuds/QuickPrey
Summary: The Goddess of the Afterlife leads Yone to his forever-after but can't help him when his demons tempt him.My take on the Spirit Blossom Skins.
Relationships: Ahri/Yone (League of Legends), Yasuo & Yone (League of Legends)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	A Life In Seconds

**Author's Note:**

> As I publish this, SB Ahri has not been reveled yet, just Yone's cinematic and a leak of her concept art. I just have a feeling she leads the dead to the afterlife. Jeez, I hope I'm right.

* * *

The clash of blades. The splatter of blood. The last breath taken.

Those were his last moments. His long ivory hair was stained red and he faded into the darkness. Yone’s stone colored eyes shot open. He gasped in air like it was his first. The cold chill he felt through his body faded, being replaced with that comfortable warmth of life. His hands felt over his chest, touching the exposed skin. His fingers jumped back when he felt how cold he was. 

He glanced around him, seeing he was laying in a pile of sakura blossoms. No… they weren’t from a sakura tree. He didn’t know what they were but they seemed so… familiar. They fell off his clothes as he sat up. This wasn’t… where he remembered being just a few seconds ago. His large hands grabbed a handful of the petals and released them, letting them flutter back to the ground. 

As his eyes focused to the vast distance, he saw a teal flame. His gaze narrowed, unsure of what it was. A white fox appeared before him, its eyes glowing. He sat in the soft grass while he watched it warily. Its presence was oddly comforting. The fox stood up on its paws, glanced over at Yone and began walking forward. It would stop every few seconds, silently asking for the swordsman to follow. 

Yone got to his feet. He was surprised— he remembered being incredibly tired. Was he dreaming? Where was he? The swordsman looked back up at the ethereal fox, seeing it take a few more steps. Yone followed it for what felt like hours. The area around them hadn’t changed. It was still the same strange garden he had woken up in. 

“Where am I?” He asked.

The fox’s ears twitched at the sudden sound of his voice, as if it had started it. The little beast’s face turned, “Where do you think you are?” Yone was shocked to hear a woman’s voice come from the creature. It was alluring and he felt his steps quicken. The fox took a leap forward, keeping the same distance between them. “Tell me, swordsman. What do you remember?”

Yone felt a sudden pain in his side. His hand gripped the soft spot under his ribcage. He felt something seep through his white robe but when he looked down there was nothing. The man looked into his palm, “My brother. He and I were… fighting.”

“To the death it seems.” The fox tittered, “Swordsman, what is your name?”

“Yone.”

“Yone… how quaint.” The white fox stopped before a bridge, glancing down to the river it hovered over. Yone looked as well, seeing fox statues in the still waters. They all had nine tails just like his guide. “Do you know of these statues?” She asked, her glowing eyes peering up at the man. 

“They are markers left by a goddess for spirits to follow.” 

The fox began walking again, “Not just any goddess… but the goddess of the heavens. She leads the souls of her people to the afterlife. I am sure you know this already.”

“You’re Ahri.” Yone stated, making the fox’s ears flatten against her fur. “So, I perished at the hands of my brother. The goddess herself is leading me to heaven, I assume?”

“Yes,” Ahri nodded. 

She stopped at the other side of the bridge, making Yone halt. Her body was suddenly engulfed in light. The swordsman covered his eyes at the brightness, hearing the sound of cloth hit the ground. He reopened his eyes, seeing a beautiful woman standing where he last saw the fox. Rose-colored hair draped over her shoulders. She wore a short white yukata with sleeves brushing over the ground. Yone’s stone-colored eyes widened at the sight of her. The art depicting her beauty did not hold a candle to the real thing.

If any of this was real. 

“Follow me to your forever, Yone.” Ahri said before she turned to walk the path again. “Even if you don’t think you deserve it, I am the only one to judge you. And I will allow you into my garden, young swordsman.”

The tales of Ahri said that she judged those at the gate of her garden. The flowers would whisper the life of the spirit, speaking each sin and pure action. If she deemed them worthy, they would live with her for an eternity. However, if their evils outweigh their good, she’d banish them. She’d ignore their pleas as the Lunar Wraiths devoured them. 

“The petals from the Spirit Blossoms can tell stories.” Ahri said, gesturing to the flowers going all around the path. A breeze carried loose petals around the goddess as if they were greeting her happily. She grinned, “Your tale is one of my favorites. A noble swordsman destined to protect his people from the most unimaginable evils. It is like a fairytale.”

The man behind her winced at the memory. He sighed, “I am no longer that man. I am dead.”

“Not entirely true.” Ahri affirmed. “The echoes of you still remain with the living… like your brother.”

Yone’s teeth gritted, holding back his growl. “He is **not** my brother. He is a traitor.” 

Ahri turned, her glowing eyes narrowed at the man behind her. The look in her eyes was like a mother who was scolding her child. “Your brother found peace.” Those words were like poison on Yone’s ears. The goddess felt a change in him but she continued. “He even married.”

Yone looked over to the blossoms shaping into two human forms. The man he recognized as his brother due to his long upright hair. The other was an unknown woman holding what looked like a shattered sword. They stood before an altar, hands intertwined for eternity. The flowers kissed lovingly. A moment Yone himself was robbed of. The wind around them murmured a little song as it blew away the petals. 

“You will find yourself soon enough, Yone.” Ahri said.

Yone dropped his head, “How long have we been walking?”

“A lifetime.” The goddess replied, “Keep your eyes forward. Even my garden has its dangers.”

Yone didn’t understand what she meant but kept his eyes on her teal tails. 

There was a rumble in the wind. He noticed Ahri’s ears twitch— she heard it too. The blossoms being carried by the breeze suddenly switched directions. Yone stopped in his tracks. The red petals fluttered as if they were being breathed in. He felt the muscles in his neck throb, wanting to turn his head so badly. Gritting his teeth, Yone gave in. 

Before him was a large gate. He couldn’t see what was on the other side. It was pure darkness beyond that. Ahri stopped when she heard Yone’s steps cease. She turned and saw him staring at the gate. Her heart dropped.

The temptation was beyond even her own power.

He began to walk towards the darkness, his eyes trying to peer in. Ahri slowly followed behind him. She wanted so badly to stop him— but it was not her place even if this was her garden. Her hand reached out silently, praying that he felt her. But he kept walking to the gate. As he entered the darkness, Ahri waited on the outside. 

Was there a chance he could leave?

She knew there wasn’t.

Yone walked to a pile of petals. They the ones he had woke up in… only they were blood red. A wind swept them up, starting their story. Yone stopped as he saw two swordsmen clashing. It was him and his brother. Yasuo used his one sword to deflect Yone’s furious attacks. There it was he saw his mistake. He left himself open for a fatal blow. Yasuo cut cleanly between his brother’s ribs and Yone felt his chest burning. The vision of himself dropped to his knees. 

He saw his last moments. Yasuo hadn’t even bowed to his fallen brother— he just walked away. Yone felt his anger bubble within him at the disrespectful act. Did Yasuo really leave his body to rot? Ahri claimed he had found peace. What a sick and twisted man. He forgave himself after his entire village was slain? He even found someone to love him?! Yone wanted so badly for him to have suffered. 

The petals dispersed, leaving a lone statue.

Yone felt his gut drop. It was him. He took a few steps forward but stopped when he heard whispers. He couldn’t tell what they were saying. The swordsman dropped to his knees just like he did before. His stone-colored eyes looked over the statue. It became suddenly quiet. There were no whispers. 

“You could have saved them.” The statue emitted the voices of those lost. 

Yone recognized them all as the people from his village. They all perished at the hands of Noxus. His head whipped around, seeing their faces. They all swore at him, making his ears ring. It was too much to bear. 

“No!” Yone bellowed as his fists smashed the statue. It fell to rubble with each powerful blow. His breaths were rapid while his heart raced. “Yasuo, you bastard! You were the one who was supposed to protect them! You fool!”

The memories of the slain bodies in the village appeared before Yone. Blood flowed like a river through the place he called home. The rage he felt when he saw the dead filled him again. This was all Yasuo’s fault. He was tasked to protect their leader while Yone went to hold back Noxian forces. He did as best as he could… but there were still so many casualties. The people he had come to love were no more.

Yasuo had betrayed them. 

He knew that for a fact. 

Yone’s mind went back to before he died. He hunted down his brother for weeks. He doesn’t remember what he had said to him, if he did at all. All he saw was red— red as the petals surrounding him. He wanted him dead. Funny how he was the one to perish. Was this why his tale was a favorite to the goddess?

The unknown area began to fill with water, the surface still and mirror-like. A tiny ripple appeared in the water and two horns rose. A beast crawled out from the shallow water, claws stretching out. It pulled itself out until it was standing on two feet, teeth bared like a feral animal. Beady black eyes spotted another being just a few feet away and its lips curled into a sadistic grin. 

Ahri watched from the gate as the demon lurked behind the troubled swordsman. 

The demon howled as a long blade appeared in its hand. Yone jumped at the sound. He turned to see a hulking red figure with long white hair pursuing him. His immediate action was to grab his familiar swords lodged in the ground. Yone flipped around just in time to hold back the demon’s attack. Swinging his sword was second nature to him. 

The blades clashed, reminiscent of Yone’s last moments alive with his brother. And like Yasuo, this demon wielded one sword. Was this a test by Ahri? Was this the danger she warned him of? He had never heard anything about the goddess doing anything like this. 

He pushed himself as hard as he could. Forcing the demon back, Yone leaped back to give himself some distance for his final attack. He sprinted forward, his blades held out. The swordsman slashed through the demon, making it whine in pain. Yone felt his heart racing as he turned. To his horror, the demon was staring right back at him with that damn grin. It swooped forward, teeth opening to show the swordsman the abyss within its mouth. 

Snap.

Crunch.

Darkness.

Again.

Ahri walked into the gate as the area around disappeared, revealing her garden again. The gate was just an illusion. A trick. She approached the swordsman as he laid face down in the red petals. The fox kneeled down beside Yone as his body twitched. Another death in her realm. It wasn’t the first and it certainly won’t be the last. 

“I came to see that your hatred would not find you… but I have failed you, Yone. My favorite tale has taken a tragic turn.” Ahri glared down at his writhing body. “Your abhorrence and fear will consume you. You will be a demon who will end up falling to a fate worse than death.” Her ears twitched as his screams beame animalistic growls— he was no longer the swordsman she got to know. 

The demon snarled, claws ripping at nothing. “ **YA** … **SU** ... **O**!” A blind rage. An animal stricken with rabies. 

“Goodnight, sweet swordsman.” Ahri kissed her fingers and then placed them on the demon’s cheek. He didn’t even register that there was someone next to him. The goddess bowed, “I pray that your spirit blossom grows in my garden.”

Yone’s body sank into the waters, disappearing from the goddess. Ahri held the fingers she kissed up to her soft lips. The stench of the hatred demon lingered everywhere except her hand— it still smelled of the lost swordsman. He would have been such a beautiful flower. 

“Even the goddess couldn’t save him…” Ahri felt a tear run down her cheek, “The temptation of revenge was too much.”

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe I can add more to this if more of the Spirit Blossom skins are along the lines of what I'm going for.  
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
